Air Force

'It Will Be Years' Before Life At Tyndall Air Force Base Returns To Normal

6:08pm October 20, 2018

by Amanda Morris

Home to 11,000 airmen and their families, the base sustained catastrophic damage when Hurricane Michael came through Florida earlier this month. Residents don't know if they will ever go back.

An F-16 escorts two F-35 fighter jets arriving at Hill Air Force Base in Utah. Each stealth F-35 costs about $90 million.

National

Air Force Seeks Huge Increase In Planes, Personnel

4:37pm September 17, 2018

by Tom Bowman

Air Force officials say the service simply lacks the resources it needs to face all the jobs it is called upon to perform. The Air Force is proposing a 25 percent increase in the number of squadrons.

Vice President Pence announces the Trump Administration's plan to create the U.S. Space Force by 2020 during a speech at the Pentagon on Thursday.

White House Describes Military 'Space Force,' Aims To Create It By 2020

4:15pm August 09, 2018

by Camila Domonoske

Vice President Pence said in a speech Thursday that the Space Force, which would be the military's sixth branch, will "prepare for the next battlefield" and "a new generation of threats."

Trump Calls For 'Space Force' To Defend U.S. Interests Among The Stars

7:09am June 19, 2018

by David Welna

The president wants a "separate but equal branch" of the military to watch over the final frontier, but only Congress can make it happen.

Queue Listen Now

Capt. William Howard Hughes Jr. was formally declared a deserter by the Air Force on Dec. 9, 1983. He was apprehended June 6, 2018, by Air Force Office of Special Investigations special agents and is awaiting pretrial confinement at Travis Air Force Base,

National

After 35 Years, Air Force Deserter Found Living In California Under False Name

1:33pm June 11, 2018

by Camila Domonoske

Capt. William Howard Hughes Jr. had top-secret clearance and disappeared in 1983. His family was baffled, and some people speculated he'd defected to the Soviet Union.

Lt. Col. Bryan (Bree) Fram marches in DC Pride Parade on June 10, 2017.

National

Transgender Air Force Officer On Trump's Ban And His Supportive Fellow Troops

3:50pm March 27, 2018

Lt. Col. Bryan (Bree) Fram says the Trump administration's latest move to limit military service by transgender troops will make them second-class citizens and put their lives at risk.

Queue Listen Now

Helen Grace James holds images from her time in the Air Force.

National

Kicked Out Of Air Force For Being Gay, Helen Grace James Wins Honorable Discharge

5:14am January 20, 2018

by Scott Simon

Helen Grace James has been fighting for her honorable discharge from the U.S. Air Force for 60 years. Now that she's won it, NPR's Scott Simon reflects on her career and the Lavender Scare.

Percentage Of Convicted Offenders In The U.S. Military Whose Criminal Data Was Not Submitted To The FBI

National

Crime-Reporting Failures Persist Across All The Pentagon's Armed Services

6:29pm December 05, 2017

by Camila Domonoske

A report finds the Army, Navy and Marines fail to submit required fingerprint and conviction data to the FBI in more than one-third of criminal cases. But the Air Force shows signs of improvement.

A U.S. Air Force B-1B "Lancer" bomber flying with F-35B fighter jets and South Korean Air Force F-15K fighter jets during a training at the Pilsung Firing Range in South Korea in September.

U.S., South Korea Begin Massive Military Exercises

6:26am December 04, 2017

by Scott Neuman

The annual Vigilant Ace exercise is taking place amid increased tensions with North Korea over its nuclear program and the recent test of an improved, longer-range ICBM.

Law enforcement officials continue their investigation at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs in Texas on Monday.

National

The Texas Church Shooter Should Have Been Legally Barred From Owning Guns

8:31pm November 06, 2017

by Camila Domonoske

Devin Patrick Kelley was convicted of assaulting his then-wife and fracturing his stepson's skull, according to a former Air Force chief prosecutor. A mistake by the Air Force allowed him to buy guns.